"Did the cops see you?" Parez demanded the moment Jacinto slammed the door behind him.
Jacinto dropped the duffel bag full of cash with a dull thud. "I don't think so," he said between ragged breaths. "But the car....
they definitely saw the car."
Parez ran a hand over his head, pacing. "Damn it, Rosa told us to be careful! She said not to alert the cops at all. This is a mess!!!!
a huge mess!!."
Before either man could speak again, a violent explosion rocked the street outside. Both of them flinched, instinctively ducking. Smoke curled up through the shattered windows, and the roar of fire filled the air. They bolted outside only to find Rosa standing calmly in front of the burning car, her face illuminated by orange flames.
"I told you to be careful," she said coldly, her eyes hard as stone.
"Rosa, we were, but... " Jacinto started.
"I don't need your excuses," she cut in sharply. "Get the money ready. Cecilio will be here in ten minutes."
Parez muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "She just torched a Porsche without even blinking..."
We didn't buy the car tho "jacinto added"
A blue pickup pulled up beside the blaze, horn blaring. "Hey, tigress
your ride's here!" Cecilio called out, grinning despite the chaos.
"You're late," Rosa said as she approached, her tone flat.
"Traffic," Cecilio replied, lifting his hands in mock defense.
"What's the plan for the money?" he asked once she climbed in beside him.
"Give it to our contact," Rosa said, eyes fixed on the road ahead. "He can get us drugs and protection. The cops are already on our scent. We need a backup plan."
"Or," Cecilio said, glancing at her, "we could just quit. It's not like they'll arrest us for staying out of trouble."
"Eyes on the road, dimwit," Rosa snapped, ignoring the comment.
"Where to now?" Jacinto asked from the back seat.
"Revillagigedo Island," Rosa replied. "Hopefully, Leon's in a generous mood."
Cecilio's hands tightened around the steering wheel. He wondered, not for the first time, what kept Rosa chained to this life. She didn't use drugs
just took whiskey, in dangerous amounts.
Antonio had died years ago in a gunfight with the police. His empire had burned to ash. But Rosa refused to let it end. She carried Antonio's ghost in her heart and his crimes on her back.
Cecilio stayed because she asked him to, but more than that, because he couldn't bring himself to leave her alone. Parez, once one of Antonio's most loyal men, had been disowned by his family and had nowhere to go after his boss's death. He stayed too. Jacinto was a stray they'd picked up during a desperate escape from the city
half-dead, starving, bleeding out on the street. Cecilio had carried him for miles. From that night on, they'd been family.
********
"Welcome, friends!" Leon's voice boomed when they reached his villa. His thick Mexican accent rolled through the courtyard as he spread his arms wide. "Please...,..sit, drink, eat! Tonight, we're all familia!"
"Leon," Rosa began, her tone sharp and deliberate, "we need to talk."
"Ah, no, no, not tonight, my dear!" Leon laughed, flashing a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Tonight we dine. Tomorrow...maybe we kill!" He laughed again, a strange, manic sound that made Parez and Jacinto exchange wary glances.
Rosa leaned in close to Cecilio as the music swelled around them. "Be careful," she whispered. "If there's one thing I know about Leon, it's that he's a two-faced psycho."
Leon had once been Antonio's closest friend, his brother in everything but blood. Somewhere along the line, that bond had rotted into rivalry. No one really knew why. Some whispered that Leon had betrayed Antonio to the cops. Cecilio doubted Leon's help would come cheap, if it came at all.
******
The next morning, Leon hosted a breakfast fit for kings. The table overflowed with food and fine wine. He sat at the head, his sharp gaze locked on Cecilio.
"You're nothing like your father, Lio," he said suddenly, his voice smooth and unsettling. "But you remind me of Mary. She had a beautiful soul... until she gave it to a monster."
"No one gave you the right to talk about my family," Cecilio snapped.
"Leon," Rosa interrupted, tension tightening her voice. "We didn't drive six hours to reminisce. We need your help."
Leon smiled faintly. "I know why you're here. Antonio's empire is gone, and yet.....you can't let it die. Tell me, Rosa, what did that man do to your soul? You've sold it for ashes."
Rosa's jaw tightened. "That's not what I came to hear."
"The truth," Leon said, leaning forward, "is bitter." He took a sip of wine before continuing, voice lowering into something darker. "Your precious Antonio was no saint. He lied to me. He lied about Mary's death. Told me she burned in a fire. I asked questions
why no autopsy, why bury her so fast? And He said, 'How should I feel? Sad?' That's when I knew."
"What really happened?" Cecilio asked, his voice trembling.
Leon's eyes hardened. "Mary was a gentle woman. I loved her once. But she chose Antonio. She bore his child... you.
I named you Cecilio, meaning blind, because I was too blind to see who your father really was, so was your mother. The house became a den of poison. Antonio turned it into a drug haven, filled with his men, his drugs, his violence. Mary wanted out. When she tried to expose him to the cops, he shot her in cold blood....and set the house on fire. All in front of you, his three-year-old son."
Leon's voice broke for a moment before hardening again. "When I came to pay my respects, you ran to me, little one, and said: 'Dad was playing Russian roulette with Mum and she lost.'"
He downed the rest of his wine, the glass shaking slightly in his hand. "Antonio was the devil in human flesh. I gave up the woman I loved for that man. And he killed her."
Silence hung heavy over the table.
Finally, Rosa spoke. "If you won't help us, Leon, why keep us here?"
Leon smiled faintly, though his eyes burned. "Because you'll be useful to me. You love the trade, don't you, Rosa? You crave it...the danger, the power. Work for me. I'll give you the drugs for free and free passage across the border. Sell in my name."
Rosa leaned forward, voice like ice. "And what makes you think I'd ever work for you?"
Leon's grin widened. "Do you have a choice, Rosalind?"